Information on Modimolle, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Conference Venues South Africa brings you information on Modimolle situated in the Limpopo Province of South Africa including information on Facilities and Recreation, Climate, Founding, History Suburbs, Town Planning and Geography

Modimolle is a town located near the Waterberg Massif in the Limpopo Province. It was formerly known as Nylstroom. Modimolle has an abundant water supply, situated in an area in which marshes, streams and fountains create a green, lush scenery.

Attractions include Modimolle Museum, Donkerpoort Dam, Strijdom Nature Reserve, Nylsvlei Bird and Nature Reserve, Old Locomotive, Old Reformed Church. Modimolle is an entry point to the world renowned Waterberg Biosphere Reserve from the south and north. The area boosts large tracts of land which are now operating as Game farms.

Two Provincial Nature Reserves, the Doorndrai dam nature reserve, the Nylsvlei and the Marakele National nature reserve. It is a medium sized town that focuses primarily on agriculture and farming such as citrus, grapes and cattle, as well as wildlife and tourism.

Modimolle History

In the 1860s, a Voortrekker group of Dutch religious zealots known as the Jerusalem Trekkers set off for the Holy Land. After discovering a river flowing northwards, they consulted the maps at the back of their Bibles and decided that it was the Nylrivier. They settled the town and called it Nylstroom in 1866. After discovering what they believed to be a ruined pyramid, they were convinced that they had found the Nile. It was in fact, a natural hillock, known to the locals as Modimolle. A Dutch Reformed Church was built in 1889 and is the oldest church in subsahara Africa north of Pretoria. It was also used as a hospital during the Second Boer War.

The first railway line reached Nylstroom in 1898, connecting the town to Pretoria. During the Second Boer War, the British operated a concentration camp in Nylstroom, where Boer women and children where interned as part of the British Scorched Earth policy. This subsequently led to the loss of 544 lives at the Nylstroom concentration camp. Strijdom Huis was the principal residence of the 6th Prime Minister of South Africa, JG Strijdom and is situated in Nylstroom